Tim, Eva's husband, planned to take Titus and Tre'von to school. From there he'd head over to the house to drop off the first load he'd packed into the van the night before. He'd gotten back to the hotel after work sometime between 1 and 2 a.m. and spent a few hours packing and cleaning before going to bed.

"He do this every time we move," Eva said.

Tim said he wanted to be out of the hotel with plenty of time before the noon deadline. He doesn't like being asked why they waited till the last minute.

"I like to get things done," he said.

Titus, Tre'von and Tim left, and Eva began moving bins and duffel bags toward the door. Terrell, 13, sat on the bed by the back wall. He said he was sick, but Eva didn't buy it.

"You wanted to stay home, you can help your mom," she said handing him the broom. "If you don't go to school, you know the deal — no video games, no nothing."

"What if I go right now?" he asked.

Eva shook her head, "You about to see my evil side — c'mon."

She went into the bathroom armed with rubber gloves and bleach spray and instructed Terrell to continue cleaning up the pile of trash he had swept out from underneath the bed. Terrell threw a couple of cups and half of a pink plastic Easter egg into the bag on the floor, but stopped cleaning shortly after his mom disappeared from his sight.

A ringing cell phone pulled Eva back into the room where she discovered Terrell using the laptop.

"Don't tell me you're on that video game," she said to him before answering the call.

On the phone was Eva's friend and partner in the Italian ice business, calling to find out if they'd applied for space at an upcoming festival. They hadn't, she said.

"This just depresses me," Eva said, sitting on a bed and scrolling through the city of Newport News website looking at upcoming events.

"We tried to get into the children's storybook festival," she said. "We were so mad."

She moved on from that website to filling out instructor evaluations for her online classes. She said she might as well complete those then because they wouldn't have Internet access at the house. She'd have to find wifi later in the afternoon, she said.

"I have a test to take," she said. "My final exam."

Getting back up to finish cleaning and packing, she noticed Terrell had left the hotel room.

"Where is he?" She walked to the window and spotted him down by a split-rail fence that borders the parking lot. She called out the door for him to come back in, but relieved he was in sight, she went back to cleaning.

Moving out

Tim came back to the hotel, then left again to take Terrell — suddenly feeling better — to school. He returned the second time just as his brother's wife pulled into the parking lot with her van to help move the rest of their belongings.

Eva said Tim's family has helped them out over the years, especially his mom, who helps with food and necessities when money is tight.

In less than an hour with both vans filled, the hotel room was nearly empty. Just some papers scattered across the bed by the door remained. Piles of crumbs and wrappers dotted the floor toward the middle of the room from where Eva had finished sweeping under the beds. She would come back later to finish cleaning, she said, with a vacuum her sister-in-law said she could borrow. She had to return anyway since she still owed the hotel $15.

Eva sat on the bed looking through the papers, which one-by-one she slipped neatly into a folder. She stared at one for a few seconds and then looked out through the open doorway.

"Another month unemployment, and that is it...no more," she said.

Moving in

Tim and his sister-in-law arrived at the house a half hour before Eva. As she was leaving the hotel, the neighbor she had helped a week earlier asked if she could again drive her around to scrape up another day's rent.

Tim said he and Eva had helped the family with transportation at least three times since that first morning.

"Instead of paying by the week, they pay day-by-day," he said.

Even though they'd now found a home, Tim said, he was still willing to help them with transportation.

"I told her if she ever needed help, she can call," he said. "They loved by God, also."

Tim looked out over his new back yard. He'd like to get a grill, he said, maybe buy the kids a pool. He noted some branches hanging above the roof that he'd like the landlord to cut, and pointed out some patches of missing grass.